Tuberculin Skin Tests and Interferon-gamma Release Assays for the Differential Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

摘要

To the Editor Sir, the recent report on tuberculin skin tests (TSTs) and interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) for the differential diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is very interesting (1). Kobashi et al. concluded that, "IGRA tests seemed to be more useful than TST for the differentiation of patients with pulmonary TB (1)." Indeed, the IGRA test has been proven to be useful for the diagnosis of TB. However, some considerations should be raised. The first is cost effectiveness.